I think my sweet spot is to make personal films on not-too-big budgets and also make other people's films, bringing productions to Iceland, upping the business here.

I consider myself more a European director who is from Iceland than an Icelandic director.

The thing about Iceland is that we are trapped there anyway, all of us. We have been trapped there for thousands of years.

Vikings were pretty brutal, but also very educated people. They were salesmen, businessmen who started raiding when business wasn't good. That's why they had such great boats.

The winters are too long, and there's only one airline, so it's difficult to escape when you feel frustrated or claustrophobic. The audience for our films isn't very large, so it's difficult to support an industry. But, Iceland is beautiful. Sometimes it's hard to imagine living anywhere else.

Throughout the history of Iceland, men have been lost at sea; every family in Iceland is connected to that kind of story.